April 2021 by The Arcadia Quill

volume 68 - issue 6 Arcadia High School 180 Campus Dr, Arcadia, CA 91006 arcadiaquill.com

THE

april 2021

ARCADIA QUILL

est. 1952

@arcadiaquill quote of the month: “The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain” - Dolly Parton

AHS RETURNS TO IN-PERSON LEARNING By LINDA QIU Student Life Editor After a great deal of preparation and labor, Arcadia High School (AHS) reopened for in-person learning on Apr. 20. AHS students and their families were offered the choice to return to school for in-person instruction or stay in distance learning. Most students in the Arcadia Unified School District opted to remain in distance learning, with only about 38% of students returning to in-person schooling. Students returning to AHS for in-person learning keep the same class schedule and teachers. They attend school on block days, which is from Tuesday to Friday. For the most part, as many teachers are teaching in-person and online students concurrently, in-person learning remains the same as virtual learning. In-person students are required to follow specific health and safety guidelines. These include wearing a mask while indoors, social distancing, and following marked pathways. Both students and staff have their temperature taken and complete a health screening form every day. Classrooms are equipped with hand sanitizing stations and high-touch surfaces are frequently sanitized. To maximize air circulation, windows and doors are kept open. Teachers use various safety measures that differ depending on the number of students present in each classroom and the availability of materials, such as the installment of plexiglass barriers and the use of seating charts that place students far apart

EXPLOITATION AND ABUSE OPINION: FOR “CONTENT” PG. 6-7 Content creators

going to “great lengths” to acquire content isn’t new. These content creators perpetuate inexcusable behavior, such as racism and sexual harassment, and get to call it a day because of their often tooPhoto courtesy of NYTIMES.COM loyal fan base.

from each other. Before reopening, AHS improved the filters and ionizers used in its heating, air conditioning, and ventilating systems. Teacher workstations were upgraded by the Arcadia Unified School District’s Technology and Information Services team. 200 new access points were installed to improve internet connection all over campus. Reopening has given teachers the added responsibility of managing classes with online and in-person students. “I know some teachers are a little bit more stressed than others, and the school administration has been going really well about trying to communicate all of the information as much as possible,” remarked AP Biology and AP Environmental Science teacher Mr. Peter Vo. Though the year has been difficult, “It has made me really emphasize the fact that whether it’s in person or whether it’s online, the most important thing for me as a teacher is the relationship that you can build with students.” Hopefully, the transition into this new learning environment will continue smoothly for both students and teachers. “We just have to keep supporting each other and being kind, knowing things aren’t going to work perfectly,” said AHS Principal Angela Dillman on the topic of reopening. “But if we can remember how important it is to get back to normal, then we’ll all be moving in the right direction.”

lqiu@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of ARCADIA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.

WHAT’S INSIDE

SPRING PREVIEW 2021 PG. 10-11

STUDENT LIFE: From Apr. 12 to 16, this year’s Spring Preview Week was held virtually. Presented by ASB, this event was available to all grade levels for information on clubs, academic teams, sports, performing arts, and more. For those who attended, there were informational meetings for sports, performing arts groups, academic teams, clubs, and classes. These organizations had the opportunity to host live meetings for students and parents to learn and freely ask any questions.

GIRLS GOLF TEAM OFF TO A GREAT SEASON PG. 16-17

SPORTS: After the sacrifice of fall and winter sports, due to the pandemic, spring sports are up and running with their season’s schedule. One of the spring sports competing at the moment is AHS’ Girls Golf team, led by Coach Greep.

Photo courtesy of WIKIWAND.COM

NEWS

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A TEMPORARY HALT TO VACCINE

By LILIAN CHONG Staff Writer With over 825 million vaccines administered worldwide, millions of people and public health officials are hopeful that a safer future will return soon. While the distribution of doses has been successful for certain countries, some COVID-19 vaccines have raised health concerns about serious side effects that come with injection. Recently, federal health agencies have discovered similar cases of blood clot side effects in patients vaccinated with Johnson & Johnson (J&J) and AstraZeneca doses. As lives race against the clock, will the pause on J&J vaccines inhibit the progress towards normality? Previously, regulators had warned about the potential side effects of AstraZeneca vaccines—rare blood clots. More recently, the disorder has become more apparent as patients vaccinated with J&J’s doses experience similar symptoms, including severe headaches and blood spots under the skin.

According to data from a report by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. has administered over 7 million people with the J&J vaccine, and nearly 9 million doses have been shipped out to states. Of the millions that have received the doses, six women “between the ages of 18 and 48 all developed the illness within one to three weeks after being vaccinated,” reported The New York Times. According to the report, “one woman died while another woman in Nebraska has been currently hospitalized in critical condition.” With the escalating cases of blood clot side effects, public health officials recommended pausing the administration of J&J vaccines. The impact hit immediately as all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. announced that the vaccines were to be halted. “We are recommending a pause in the use of this vaccine out of an abundance of caution,” Dr. Peter Marks, director of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said to The

By BRANDON CHAN Staff Writer On Apr. 9, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and member of the British royal family, passed away due to natural causes at the age of 99. The death of Prince Philip comes at a time of scrutiny after the Oprah interview with Meghan Markle, in which Markle said the royal family was concerned about her son’s skin color. “There were concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he was born,” Markle said. However, despite this, Prince Philip was a relatively accomplished man. He was a highly regarded naval commander, a worldwide conservation advocate, the longest-serving royal consort, and a Knight of the Order of Australia. The effects of his death bring the next generation of the royal family into the limelight. Carolyn Harris, a royal historian and author, stated that Prince Philip’s death will increase the public duties given to younger people in the royal family, specifically Prince Charles and his son Prince William. However, nowadays, the royal family is more of a figurehead rather than people who actually dictate the country, contrary to past times. “The monarchy has existed for over a thousand years and has reinvented itself numerous times over the centuries to reflect changing societal norms, political conditions and public opinion,” Harris said to NBC News. “The younger generations of the royal family are more inclined to speak their minds and prioritize their personal lives in addition to their royal duties.” For instance, Prince Charles, one of the heirs to the throne, was recently criticized for speaking out on controversial issues such as climate change and inner city homelessness. This is very different from Prince Philip’s era, during which there was a more neutral stance on most topics. Prince Philip’s life was a long, well-lived one. To adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic during what would be his last year alive, he learned how to use social media and join Zoom calls in order to talk with his family. In an interview with James Corden, Prince Harry said that Prince Philip would abruptly close his laptop to leave meetings not knowing any better. “He will be remembered as the longest reigning consort to the Monarch, a decorated serviceman, a Prince and a Duke,” Prince Harry said. “But to me, like many of you who have lost a loved one or grandparent over the pain of this past year, he was my grandpa: master of the barbecue, legend of banter, and cheeky right ’til the end.”

bchan@arcadiaquill.com Photo by THETIMES.COM

New York Times in a statement. several countries and poorer European Union Currently, FDA and CDC scientists are nations—including Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia, examining a link between the disorder and and Slovakia. Australia also announced that it the vaccines. If the FDA reapproves, then the will not purchase any. administration of the J&J vaccine will either It ultimately boils down to whether be available again for all adults or be limited to public health experts can handle the vaccinacertain population groups. tion dilemma, address vaccine hesitancy, and A debate on the vaccine’s ethical concerns debunk vaccine conspiracy theories. Although was sparked in the public health community as authorities are taking extra precautions with many argued whether the halt on the vaccine the new doses, many frontline workers have against a rare disorder was worth it. With some expressed how the decision to pause the vacalready expressing vaccine hesitancy, public cines was made too soon. health experts fear that the pause could result “It’s too early for anyone to say anyin fewer Americans getting vaccinated. Others thing. We have people that are allergic to say there’s no choice but to bring a halt to it. penicillin, but we don’t take penicillin out of “I’d like to stress these events appear the market,” said Roger Fernandez, a pharmato be extremely rare. However, COVID-19 cist at Freya Pharmacy. vaccine safety is a top priority for the federal government, and we take all reports of adverse events following vaccination very seriously,” said Janet Woodcock, an acting commissioner of the FDA. lchong@arcadiaquill.com Furthermore, the pause on J&J vaccines Photo courtesy of have further hindered vaccination progress for THEDENVERCHANNEL.COM

PRINCE PHILIP DIES AT 99

APRIL 2021

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NEWS

DEREK CHAUVIN CONVICTED OF MURDER

By LINDA QIU Staff Writer On Apr. 20, former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted for the murder and manslaughter of George Floyd, who died in May 2020 after Chauvin pinned him to the pavement with his knee for over nine minutes. After over ten hours of deliberation over two days by the jurors, Chauvin was convicted of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The defense claimed Floyd died of a combination of cardiac arrest and illicit drugs. Their side’s witnesses testified that Floyd demonstrated agitated and anxious behavior indicative of delirium, and that Chauvin’s actions were justified in accordance with Minneapolis Police Department policies. During the trial, 38 witnesses were called to testify by prosecutors. Witnesses included bystanders at the scene of Floyd’s death, who attested to the fear and horror they felt. Then, police supervisors and use-of-

forced experts claimed that Chauvin’s kneeling on Floyd even after the man had passed out, stopped breathing, and no longer had a pulse, was excessive and unreasonable. Medical experts at the trial explained that Floyd died from a lack of oxygen categorized as positional asphyxia from when Chauvin prevented him from breathing properly. “He was not going to let these bystanders tell him what to do,” prosecutor Steve Schleicher described Chauvin in the state’s closing argument. “He was going to do what he wanted, how he wanted, for as long as wanted. And there was nothing, nothing they can do about it because he had the authority. He had the power, and the other officers, the bystanders were powerless. He was trying to win, and George Floyd paid for it with his life.” After the jury returned Chauvin’s verdict, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the nation from the White House. President Biden said Floyd’s death exposed the world to the U.S.’s racial and policing issues. Vice President Harris said that though Chauvin had been found guilty of his charges,

there is still much work to be done to reform the American criminal justice system. “It’s not enough. We can’t stop here,” said President Biden. “We’re going to deliver real change and reform. We can and we must do more to reduce the likelihood that tragedies like this will ever happen again.” Floyd’s family celebrated the conviction. “Justice for George, it means freedom for all,” said Philonoise Floyd, Floyd’s brother. “The world has sparked, and lit up with a blaze tonight. And it’s a celebration. Business can be taken care of tomorrow, but it’s a celebration today.” Chauvin faces up to 40 years in prison for the second-degree unintentional murder charge, up to 25 years for third-degree murder, and up to 10 years for manslaughter. Minnesota’s sentencing guidelines typically recommend about four years in prison for manslaughter and around 12.5 years in prison for each murder charge, but for Chauvin’s case, the state re- lqiu@arcadiaquill.com Photos courtesy of FLICKR.COM quested a harsher sentence. Photos by CHAD DAVIS and Chauvin’s sentencing will take place in apLORIE SHAULL proximately eight weeks.

By PAMINA YUNG Staff Writer

I N DIANAPOLIS FE DEX SHOOTI NG pyung@arcadiaquill.com Photos by THEDENVERPOST.COM

A hooded figure sprayed bullets after setting foot inside the Indianapolis FedEx warehouse where he used to work, killing eight FedEx employees and leaving seven more injured before shooting himself on Apr. 15. When the police arrived on the scene, the shooter, Brandon Hole, was already dead. It was the city’s third mass shooting since the beginning of 2021. “Last night, Indianapolis was revisited by the scourge of gun violence that has killed far too many in our community and our country,” said Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. According to the Indianapolis police chief Randal Taylor, Hole legally purchased the two semi-automatic rifles used in the shooting, despite an earlier warning and confiscation of his previously owned shotgun due to concerns around Hole’s mental state. Chief Taylor suggested that Hole was able to purchase the assault weapons due to the ineffectiveness of the state’s red flag laws. This incident brought more alert to gun violence and the current inadequacy of gun regulation methods such as red flag laws, which keep guns out of the hands of those who should not have them, and “extreme risk protection orders,” which involve seizing a person’s firearms for various reasons. “Too many Americans are dying every single day from gun violence,” said President Joe Biden in a briefing about the Indianapolis shooting and gun restriction laws. “It stains our character and pierces the very soul of our nation. We can, and must, do more to act and to save lives.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation is working to uncover Hole’s motive, although the search is bleak since the gunman is now deceased. Shortly after the shooting, employees and their friends and family members congregated at a “family unification center” arranged by authorities at a nearby hotel. Some were upset about being unable to contact workers at the site of the shooting, as many employees were prohibited from using their mobile devices to avoid distractions. The shooting was especially distressing to the Sikh community, as this specific FedEx location is known for hiring many Sikh employees, and four of the eight victims killed were Sikh. This has left the Sikh community in Indianapolis terrified and feeling targeted. One victim, Amarjeet Johal, was a “mother, grandmother, and member of the Indianapolis Sikh community,” according to The Indianapolis Star. “I am heartbroken to confirm that my naniji (maternal grandmother), Amarjeet Kaur Johal, is among those killed in the senseless shooting at the FedEx facility in Indianapolis,” said Johal’s granddaughter, Komal Chohan. “We are still working to identify others who were injured and killed on Thursday night. I have several family members who work at the particular facility and are traumatized. My nani, my family, and our families should not feel unsafe at work, at their place of worship, or anywhere. Enough is enough—our community has been through enough trauma.”

OPINION

By LILIAN CHONG Staff Writer “You’re attractive and smart for an Asian.” “You’re exotic.” “Hey, you have really pretty, almondshaped eyes.” These examples of catcalling, objectifying, and stereotyping are the direct result of society’s perpetual ignorance towards Asian American women. Ignorance, consequently, further incites racially and sexually motivated crimes, such as the tragic Atlanta shooting on Mar. 16, where six women of Asian descent— Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng—were fatally shot for being Asian American females. While American complicity of silencing ethnic minorities and staying mute on racial discrimination will persist, it’s time at least to dismiss the false myths that depict Asians as foreigners, dolls, or diseases. It’s time to bridge the racial and gender divide and embrace intersectionality to heal the ills of our damaged society. The fetishization of women of color is not a new phenomenon. In fact, the racist behavior stems from the problematic history of stereotyping Black women as erotic objects or Asian women as subservient dolls. One example of a racial fetish in Asian women is “yellow fever,” which is defined as the feeling of contracting an uncontrollable desire for Asians. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Western society exaggerated and appropriated the cultural framework of the Eastern world by embracing concepts of Orientalism. The West shaped distorted depictions of East Asian women that often dehumanized them as soft China dolls, aggressive dragon ladies, and submissive geishas. These representations created warped understandings and colonial fantasies of Asian women in the West. It’s clear that these colonial norms of objectifying Asian women as sexual creatures are still pervasive and ingrained in our society. Another paradigm of the anti-Asian sentiment is exemplified through our country’s history of law and policy—controversial policies have shaped discrimination and xenophobia towards Asian Americans today. The Page Act of 1875 and the Chinese Exclu-

sion Act of 1882 were two laws implemented by federal orders; the objective was to ban Chinese women from entering the country for prostitution and prevent mixed-race marriages. As a result, the exclusion of Chinese immigrants has perpetuated the myth of Asian Americans being forever foreigners and outsiders of America.

Still, the history of Asian fetishization in the West doesn’t stop here. In Western films and entertainment, Asian women were categorized under varying stereotypes, such as Lotus Blossom or Dragon Lady. Examples of these controversial films and plays include “Madame Chrysantheme,” “Madame Butterfly,” and Miss Saigon. These entertainments often followed a cliche storyline—a white savior or soldier falls in “love” and tries to marry a young Asian girl who is forced into prostitution. Moreover, the Western thought of implying that Asian people are weak and white people are saviors is problematic in the sense that it reinforces the beliefs of white supremacy and the model minority myth. Even today, racial preferences become overly complicated by ingrained myths and sexual stereotypes. A study using data from a Facebook group, “Are You Interested,” even explored the dating preferences of various racial groups; Asian women were the most preferred by men of all

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races compared to other ethnic groups. The high preference suggests the reason for which Asian women often encounter overtly racist and sexualized comments both off- and online. “When you fetishize you become complicit in the perpetuation of our historical trauma. You become complicit in dynamics that to this day, still contribute to higher statistics of sexual assault, suicide, depression, and murder for marginalized people,” wrote an Asian American woman, Lillian, on an Instagram (@ thefleshlightchronicles) caption. She does not disclose her last name for privacy reasons. In the past, Lillian has had unpleasant experiences with the worst offenders on Tinder and other dating apps, such as receiving sexually explicit or racist messages. For many Asian women, Lillian’s experiences are too familiar—fetishization has become normalized and unbearable to the point where affirmative action and attention are needed on these pertinent issues of rampant objectification. In the rise of anti-Asian crimes and violence, student activists have been using their platforms to condemn racial and

to all forms of structural racism and bridge the divide between Asian communities and other communities of color. Many coalitions and student groups across the country have also been hosting night vigils for victims of anti-Asian crimes.

sexual violence and express solidarity and support for the Asian American community. The Stop AAPI Hate coalition was formed over the pandemic as an activist organization to respond

lchong@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of FONTSPACE.COM, PROJECTVOICEPOD.COM, THEDP.COM, and THEFALCON.ONLINE

An article further details multiple resources for Asians and other racial groups to help out the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. The AAPI Women Lead and #ImReady Movement aims to strengthen the voices of Asian American women and empower their stories. We are Asian Americans in a diverse nation. Yet still, our presence and voice don’t seem well-acknowledged, welcomed, or integrated into modern American society. There will be barriers—language, identity, myths—existing for us that make us perpetual “foreigners.” When we are spat on with xenophobic rhetoric or catcalled with sexual stereotypes, our pleas for help are dismissed, ignored, and even diminished by our community and our country’s leaders. But perhaps, if we can restitch the wounds of the broken American narrative—encourage compassion in people and reunite with all races and genders—then we can surely say that America is what it was meant to be from the start: an inclusive, diverse, and united nation.

opinion.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

APRIL 2021

OPINION

Exploitation and abuse for “content” By ANGELA CHIEN

Staff Writer Content creators going to “great lengths” to acquire content isn’t new. In 2018, it was Logan Paul disturbing and disrespecting the bodies of those who committed suicide in the Aokigahara forest in Mount Fuji, Japan. Now, in 2021, it’s David Dobrik and his former partner Dominykas Zeglaitis being accused of rape and sexual assault for a video released back in 2018. As arguably two of the biggest YouTubers on the platform, both have addressed their “situations” through apology videos and interviews, but it does not amount to the damage they’ve caused. However, they do represent the bigger problem in the new age of content creation: the exploitation and violation of persons and situations for “content.” Of course, Logan Paul and David Dobrik are not the only creators who have faced backlash for their “questionable” choices in videos; there are more than two bad apples in a community of millions of creators. Aside from the personal trauma these creators have directly implanted in their victims, it should not be forgotten that their audience mostly consists of pre-adolescent and young teens. The impressionable members of their audience, who derive entertainment from YouTube and TikTok for many hours a day, are also victims of their unethical means. They are impressed upon the mindset that certain actions are excusable and dismissible as long as they add an “It’s just a

joke!” at the end. These content creators perpetuate inexcusable behavior, such as racism and sexual harassment, and get to call it a day because of their often too-loyal fan base. Even if they are called out, they can just post a Notes app apology on their social media pages, captioned with a red heart, or cry into their cameras about how much the backlash has been getting to them and monetize it on YouTube, rather than owning up to their actions. This type of sequence is apparent throughout the YouTube community, simultaneously emphasizing to their audience that unthoughtful and disturbing behavior can be forgiven as long as they utter an “I’m sorry.” As the Chinese saying goes, if apologies were effective, then why do we still need law enforcement? The platforms that give them these opportunities to go to such “great lengths” are nowhere near ethical either. YouTube demonetizes a few videos of creators that are receiving backlash, but the system is created so that said creators can just earn back what they “lost” with a few videos. Sometimes, YouTube does not even take down videos until the whole community is outraged. Beyond Logan Paul and David Dobrik are mountains of exploitation and violations for “content.” They are just the tip of the iceberg and the ones who have been exposed to heat, so who is to say that the iceberg won’t start melting and exposing more content creators’ unethical means?

achien@arcadiaquill.com Photos courtesy of NYTIMES.COM and WIKIMEDIA.ORG Graphic courtesy by YOUTUBE.COM

Violence Against Asian Americans Requires Harsher Punishments By SEAN YANG Staff Writer A hate crime is a crime in which the main motivation of the crime is based on race, religion, or sexual orientation. In the past few weeks, violence against Asians seems to have become a common occurrence as new cases of heinous acts appear every week. According to the California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, there has been an increase of over 150% in Asiantargetted violence compared to last year. Even though many of these cases have appeared on mainstream media, none of the acts have been considered hate crimes yet. This needs to change; Asian-targetted violence needs more attention to be drawn toward the problem in order for more severe punishments to be dealt to any perpetrators. The main reason that the acts are not considered hate crimes is because there is no outstanding evidence that the ethnicity of the victim was what brought about the violence. However, with so many cases concerning Asian-Americans, the trend is pretty clear.

Even though Asian-Americans are being vocal about the issue, they have been unable to convince the prosecutors to pursue more action. This is due to the fact that hate crimes are usually harder to prove in court. It is much easier to charge someone with assault or criminal behavior than for a hate crime, as the prosecutor has to prove that the defendant not only acted with malicious intent but also because of a specific reason: race, in these cases. In fear of losing the case, prosecutors will often stray away from the topic of hate crimes as criminal charges will give them a guaranteed win in court. Hate crimes will garner a more severe punishment than an ordinary criminal charge as bias against ethnicity is involved. Even so, this is exactly why this violence needs to be considered a hate crime. Perpetrators must be prosecuted so that people will stray away from Asian violence. The public needs to know that there will be severe punishments for violence against Asian-Americans, so that further violence can be prevented. An extreme case of violence occurred just last month in New York City when while walking home, a 36-year old Chinese American was

stabbed in the back. Even with a case this severe, it was originally not considered a hate crime, but later changed after public outrage. It was originally not considered a hate crime because the suspect turned himself in claiming that ethnicity was not the main reason why he murdered the man. His claim was disproved when the police station told the public that the suspect and victim had no relationship. Another event that occurred just recently, on Mar. 16, a 21-year-old white gunman went to three different massage spas and killed eight people in Atlanta, Georgia. Six of the victims were of Asian ethnicity, four of which were South Korean. The police have initially stated that the attacks were not racially motivated, but investigations are still ongoing. Popular Asian celebrities like Mindy Kaling and Simu Liu have shown their outrage over this act of violence over social media and are pushing for the perpetrator to be prosecuted for committing a hate crime. A study from Stop Asian American Pacific Islander Hate or AAPI has also recorded 3,795 attacks against Asian Americans that were all motivated because of the victims’

ethnicity. The report also shows that Chinese Americans are the largest ethnic group that is reporting hate with 42.2% of reports while Koreans are second with 14.8%. These cases are not even close to the total number of hate crimes being committed, as not all crimes are reported. The group most affected by this is the senior community as they are the most vulnerable when it comes to defending themselves if they were targeted. In February, there was a case of a 64-year-old grandmother who was robbed on Lunar New Year while withdrawing money from an ATM in San Jose. In conclusion, more efforts need to be made concerning the violence against AsianAmericans. It is not right for a person to be mistreated because of their ethnicity. AsianAmericans are not a virus. Racism is.

syang@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of VICTORIA PICKERING on FLICKR.COM

FEATURES

By LINDA QIU Staff Writer On Jan. 13, 1996, Amber Hagerman and her younger brother, Ricky Hagerman, rode their bikes to a grocery store two blocks away from their home in Arlington, Texas. She wanted to stay in the parking lot for a while, so Ricky went home without her. He came back later to fetch her only to discover her bicycle with Amber nowhere to be seen. The Hagermans notified the news and the FBI, and began searching for Amber. Unfortunately, Amber’s body was found four days later in a creek with a severely lacerated neck, less than five miles from where she had gone missing. She was 9-years-old. Amber’s killer would never be found, but the crime sparked the creation of the AMBER Alert, an alert system that notifies community residents to assist in the search and recovery of abducted children. The name comes from

By ANGELA CHIEN Staff Writer Hey Josh, did you go to the Josh fight? You didn’t win? Then, who did? Ah, Josh did. “There could only be one,” user Joshua Swain captioned on Twitter with a screenshot of a group chat exchange. On April 24, 2020, Swain - out of boredom - added as many people he could find on Facebook who shared the same name as him to a group chat. But instead of exclaiming their commonality with his dopplegangers, Swain challenged them to a duel at a specific location, down to its coordinates. “Precisely, 4/24/2021, 12:00 PM, meet at these coordinates, (40.8223286, -96.7982002). We fight, whoever wins gets to keep the name. Everyone else has to change their name. You have a year to prepare, good luck,” said Swain in his texts to the other Swain’s. Unbeknownst to Joshua Swain, this tweet became a viral meme with sixty-four thousand likes and twenty-one thousand retweets within the first two weeks. The seriousness and specificity of the time and location seemed to have reflected the heavy gravity of this event, inspiring hundreds of other Josh Swains to partake

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Amber herself but is also an acronym for America’s Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response. You may have received AMBER Alert notifications in the past. All major wireless carriers distribute AMBER alerts and most smartphones receive them. You automatically are subscribed to receive these alerts if you possess a Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association Wireless Emergency Alerts Capable-enabled phone. Even when you have Do Not Disturb turned on, AMBER Alerts still come through with their jarring screeching sound coupled with vibrations and an emergency text message on your screen. This ensures more people see the notification and may be able to help recover the victim. In California, only California law enforcement agencies can initiate AMBER Alerts when certain criteria are met. An abduction must be confirmed to have occurred, the victim must be younger than 18 or have a mental or physical disability, the victim may be in imminent danger of serious injury or death, and public in-

volvement may assist in the victim’s recovery. “If you witness a child abduction, call 911 immediately to report it. Be prepared to provide the location of the abduction, descriptions of the child and suspect, and make, model, color, and license plate number (if possible) of any vehicle involved,” stated the California Highway Patrol’s Amber Alert page. The alert system has received criticism for perceived flaws. “The AMBER Alert system has an inherent contradiction structured into it,” said assistant professor of criminal justice Timothy Griffin. “There are specific criteria that are supposed to be met for an alert to be issued. The problem is it takes time to verify those criteria. At the moment of truth, when a decision has to be made, often law-enforcement officials are busy verifying whether the case satisfies those conditions.” Because law enforcement officials need to make rapid decisions, some AMBER Alerts turn out to be false alarms. Simultaneously, AMBER

in the battle a year later after the tweet was sent. Initially, Swain orchestrated such playful grandiosity because he was bored at home from the lockdown. He also noted that the frustration of being unable to own an exclusive username on social media compelled him to come up with this idea, but it was a joke until the Internet responded with serious enthusiasm. The Josh Fight, or Josh vs Josh vs Josh, took place at Air Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. This, however, did not correspond with the coordinates given in the viral texts as the coordinates were actually a farm on a private property, whose owner did not agree to host the event. At Air Park, thousands of spectators congregated to witness the nation’s first Fight of the Josh’s. At least 60 Josh’s arrived in their best armor as they came from all parts of the country. Some arrived in style, whereas others fought - literally for their names - in Star Wars or Spiderman costumes. There were three fights in total. The first fight was a game of intense rock-paper-scissors meant for the Josh Swain’s. Of course, none other than

Josh Swain, the event organizer, came out on top above other contenders. The second fight engaged all of the Josh’s (just Josh, no need to be a Swain) who had brought a pool noodle. Participants and attendees were advised in advance to bring a pool noodle to mimic the slashes and clashes of a field battle. Then came the final showdown of the Josh’s; this was meant for anyone in possession of a pool noodle and the will to engage in a fierce, relentless, but not deadly battle. As the battle dragged out, more people began to withdraw and retract, leaving the limelight to those with elite pool noodles and intriguing charisma. However, as the OG Josh Swain dictated in his viral tweet, “There could only be one.” And the one in question emerged victorious. A local 5 year-old boy named Josh Vinson, Jr.,, also known as “Little Josh” to the rest of the Twitterverse, and his red noodle took the AEW World Cham-

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Alerts are often not issued quickly enough, dangerous considering that according to research into child abduction statistics, about three quarters of children who are kidnapped and killed are murdered within three hours of being abducted. Furthermore, the frequency at which AMBER Alerts are issued causes people to begin disregarding their seriousness. The AMBER Alert system does have its successes. Since its inception in 1996, 1,029 children have been rescued thanks to AMBER Alerts. In over 17 percent of AMBER Alert cases, the direct recovery of children directly results from the AMBER Alert.

lqiu@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of FONTSPACE.COM and THENOUNPROJECT.COM

pionship belt and Burger King paper crown, which was evidently too big for his face. The crowd roared with support, and raised him up like Simba in the opening scene of Lion King. According to his father, who is also named Josh, Little Josh “had the time of his life.” Days before the event, Josh Swain announced a fundraiser for the event, which would benefit the Children’s Hospital & Medical Center Foundation in Omaha. The gathering amassed over $13,300 for the hospital, way over its initial goal of $1,000. Alongside the fundraiser was a campaign to start a food drive for the Foodbank of Lincoln. A request for non-perishable foods was put out to the attendees, who then brought over 200 pounds of food for the food bank. It’s events like the Josh Fight, born out of immediacy from the internet coupled with sheer enthusiasm from hundreds of strangers and the audacity to take ideas farther than on paper, that acts as a reminder to the rest of us that life doesn’t always have to be so serious. acchien@arcadiaquill.com Graphic courtesy of 1001FONTS.COM Photo by LINCOLNJOURNALSTAR.COM

features.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

APRIL 2021

FEATURES

By AVARI WANG Staff Writer

By BRYAN LIM Staff Writer

only see vague shapes and shadows,” Christine Ha said in an article from Entertainment Weekly. Ha later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance at the University of Texas and earned herself a master’s of fine arts in Creative Fiction and Nonfiction. She later competed on season three of MasterChef. On Sept. 10, 2012, it was announced that she was the winner. She was awarded $250,000, the MasterChef title, a cookbook deal, and the MasterChef trophy. After winning, Ha began co-hosting the TV show Four Senses with Carl Heinrich in 2013. Carl Heinrich was the winner of season two of Top Chef Canada, another popular TV show. In 2015, she also became a judge on season three of MasterChef Vietnam. She has traveled around the world to open smallscale restaurants and to give talks about her experiences as being a blind cook. Overall, Christine Ha is a very talented and respected cook who uses her wits and quick thinking to cook delicious meals. To her, being blind doesn’t matter when it comes to cooking, and she proved that by winning MasterChef and opening many restaurants around the world. She has given many speeches about her experiences and inspired many people.

Christine Ha is an American chef and is mostly known as the first-ever blind contestant of the hit TV show, MasterChef. She was the winner of MasterChef season three in 2012. Ha was born in Los Angeles, California, on May 9, 1979. Her parents were from Vietnam and moved to the United States in 1975. Ha later moved from Long Beach, California, to Houston, Texas, and when she was 14-years-old, her mother passed away due to lung cancer. In 1999, Ha was an undergraduate at the University of Texas and experienced blurry vision in one eye. The blurriness persisted, so she decided to go to a neuro-ophthalmologist which is a person who specializes in vision problems, and they suspected that she had multiple sclerosis, also known as MS. In 2004, she was diagnosed with neuromyelitis optica, also known as NMOSD. Neuromyelitis optica is a disorder that affects the eye nerves and spinal cord. She slowly lost her vision and went completely blind by 2007. “From a medical standpoint, doctors call my vision ‘counting fingers.’ If you hold your hand 10 to 12 inches from my face, I could count your fingers as long as the lighting isn’t too dark or glaring. The way I often de- blim@arcadiaquill.com scribe it is that it’s like if you take a reGraphics courtesy of DAFONT.COM, ally hot shower and then you look into FOODNETWORK.COM, and the foggy bathroom mirror, where you PNGTREE.COM

As our society has progressed, so has everyone’s opinion on worldwide issues, small or large. The term “snowflake” has been used to describe people who are overly sensitive and tend to take offense to minor issues. Are people really overreacting about everything, or are we as a society just becoming more aware of social issues and growing to become not afraid to stand up for what is right? A lot of cancel culture revolves around being racist, homophobic, or condoning or doing any other acts that discourage the equality of all human beings based on factors they cannot control. These are all completely valid reasons to ostracize someone. After all, a celebrity setting a hateful example on a platform with millions of viewers is very bad news. However, sometimes, it has gotten to a point where people become offended from even the tiniest things. To cancel someone for something as silly as not liking a certain food is just plain pathetic. Another example of cancelling someone over something ridiculous is when people accidentally say something that sounds problematic. People these days on the Internet would publicize this as much as they can, blowing up rumors and such just to exaggerate a small mishap. There are varying degrees of “dark humor” circulating around the Internet, and some people are just not ready to take the jokes (when applicable). Of course, anything that is intently harmful is not okay whatsoever, but miniscule wording hiccups or light insults shouldn’t be over thought and over judged to be something incredibly malicious.

The need for trigger warnings for discussions about assault, disorders, or other traumatic issues are very understandable. However, when people criticise creators for not having warnings for the smallest things, it becomes pretty ridiculous as well. This is often seen happening on the popular social media app Tiktok. There was a video once with a girl harmlessly dancing to a song with finger guns, and the comment section had people complaining that there wasn’t a trigger warning for the “gun symbol”. Things like this actually make the complainer look like they have an unwarranted sense of entitlement. With the very, very controversial election that happened in 2020, many young people found themselves choosing a political side. The vast majority of social media is very leftist, so anyone with another opinion often found themselves being attacked by everyone. It seemed like no one could respectfully deal with an opposing opinion without excessive name calling, etc. To be honest, although the majority of our world today has been brought up to respect people of all cultures, race, and sexuality, there are always going to be some who choose to make others miserable for their own, twisted needs. This is not to justify some of the indeed terrible things that people have done online, but to be on the Internet is somewhat of a “do this at your own risk” type of thing. If you can’t handle the Internet, it’s probably better to stay off of it and avoid unnecessary drama. awang@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of DAFONT. COM and ICONSCOUT.COM

STUDENT LIFE

By MADISON YEE Staff Writer From Apr. 12 to 16, this year’s Spring Preview Week was held virtually. Presented by ASB, this event was available to all grade levels for information on clubs, academic teams, sports, performing arts, and more. For those who attended, there were informational meetings for sports, performing arts groups, academic teams, clubs, and classes. These organizations had the opportunity to host live meetings for students and parents to learn and freely ask any questions. On Apr. 12, the website was launched with further information and links to navigate the available live meetings which took place from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. With the hope to help both current and incoming students to familiarize themselves with what the high school has to offer, read more to find out about some clubs and organizations that were present at this event. “Standing for leadership, experience, and opportunity, LEO Club encourages youth of the rising generation to develop leadership qualities by participating in social service activities. With school returning in April, we still plan to hold our meetings virtually, but will most likely return to holding our Friday club meetings at the CTE Building during lunch once we return to campus for the next academic school year,” said senior Elena Chan, president of LEO Club. As one of the largest service organizations globally, LEO Club is a volunteering youth organization of Lions Club International that works on volunteer events in the community and greater Los Angeles area. Amid their many service events, they also have projects during their Friday club meetings and partner with the regional District 4L2 LEO Club for opportunities. Additionally, next year there will be a new merging of the Campus Environmentalist Club, Green Team, and Student Sierra Club to create the EverGreen Club. “We hope to take the opportunity in

Spring Preview to introduce the new merged club to more future Arcadia students. Interested individuals can attend our live meeting and look through our Google Photos album for a peek at what it’s like being an EverGreen member: partnerships with Heal the Bay and Amigos de Los Rios, upcycling projects, volunteer opportunities at the Los Angeles County Arboretum’s annual Los Angeles Environmental Education Fair (LAEEF), and even extra credit opportunities for APES. More information will be updated on our Instagram page @evergreenarcadia; we look forward to meeting future environmentalists!” said senior Tiffany Zhuo, president of Campus Environmentalist Club. As another school favorite, the Coding Club posted on social media for updates on the Spring Preview. “This year, Spring Preview is completely virtual so Coding Club has submitted a description of what we do, a sign up form, our website link, a 30-second video, and a link to our informational meeting. Coding Club is also going to be posting a flyer on social media to promote Spring Preview,” said senior Rachel Loh, president of the Coding Club. On the other hand, Designation Club, a club for graphic design, provides short and easy lessons on programs including Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Google Slides, and Photopea while there are new opportunities each year, as well as collaborations with other organizations and clubs. “Throughout a regular school year, our club would host outside workshops in local public libraries to teach children and middle schoolers the importance of graphic design and the basic elements of design with fun activities on the computer and on paper. For Spring Preview, our Historian, Kyrene Tam, created an animation to promote Designation Club using Adobe After Effects. While the animation is only 15 seconds, Kyrene added various images from club meetings and volunteer workshops that were taken over the years to provide a short introduction of our club. We hope you and your friends check out Designation Club next year during Clubs Week!” said senior Yenah Lee,

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president of Designation Club. As we all know, Arcadia Color Guard is known for their show-stopping performances every year! Like some other groups including the Latino Student Union and AHS Marching Band, Color Guard had their informational meeting on Apr. 16 from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. “The other day, the Color Guard captains visited the Foothills Drill Team Zoom practice where we played our promotional video and talked a little bit about color guard. We’ve sent the promotional video to the middle school social medias, and we are individually contacting members of the middle school drill teams about our informational meeting. We are holding tryouts on May 11th to 13th! Usually, we visit the middle schools during lunch to spin and hand out flyers, so we are doing our best to improvise and adapt to ensure that we still have a full team next year!” said junior Kate Fletcher, one of the Color Guard captains. Orchestra had their meeting on Apr. 16. With other fun aspects to see during the session, there were folders on Google Drive with photos from past events like their Florida tour and exciting concerts for students to get to know more about what would happen in a regular school year. “The publicity team created a recruitment video for 8th graders to view! It covers different aspects of orchestra such as the friends students make and the music, and there are also student testimonials, so we can connect with the audience better. There’s also going to be a live session with the directors and some current students that the incoming freshman can join. Our goal is to give the people interested in orchestra insight on what it’s like to be a part of the orchestra family!” said senior Jocelyn Chin, the orchestra public relations senior. On Apr. 12 at 3:00 p.m the Science Olympiad team joined the Spring Preview event to share more about themselves. For those that don’t know, Science Olympiad is a competition with 23 events on all topics of science including biology, chemistry, physics, lab, and more. “We’re holding tryouts for the 21-22 season soon and will be having a question answer

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session. You can find more information on our website and fill out the interest form. We’ve also opened up our application form. Be sure to follow the Arcadia Science Olympiad Instagram and save our website link to stay updated,” said junior Sonia Zhang. For a quick rundown, Monday included Boys Volleyball, Science Olympiad, Arcadia Esports, Red Cross Club, Taiwanese Appreciation Club, Girls Volleyball, Coding Club, Physics Team, Business Management, Girls and Boys Golf, and College and Career Counseling. Tuesday was designated for The Arcadia Quill, USABO Club, AHS Badminton, My Friend and I, Engineering Design Pathway, and Computer Science Classes. On Wednesday, students could log into meetings for Science Bowl, Academic Decathlon, EverGreen Club, Engineering Design and Development, Key Club, Social Science Department, and Medical Healthcare/Sports Med. Thursday meetings involved AHS Choir, Affinity for Animals, Kare 4 Kids, Music Makes Miracles, Arcadia Stage Theatre Company, and LEO Club. Lastly, on Friday there was the Food Science Club, Students Promoting Literacy, Applied Engineering, Color Guard, Latino Student Union, AHS Marching Band, and Arcadia HS Orchestras. All in all, even with the online format the event had a great turnout for each club, organization, team, sport, etc. to showcase what their group is all about! For those who want to reference the different groups who participated, make sure to check out the Spring Preview website which has some information and videos for you to view.

myee@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of Becris on THENOUNPROJECT.COM and MARSNEV on FONTSPACE.COM Photos courtesy of Colorguard, Designation Club, LEO Club, Orchestra, and Science Olympiad

APRIL 2021

studentlife.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

Is It Worth it to Take the PSAT/ NMSQT® and SAT®? By AMANDA CHANG Staff Writer

STUDENT LIFE

more money. Wealthy parents can provide benefits that many poor families can’t, such as tutors, learning opportunities, the best medical care and schools with ample resources,” according to The Washington Post. The possibility of permanently cutting standardized testing from college applications is uncertain. Admissions committees are reviewing and discussing the topic, and newspapers are releasing articles regarding it. As of now, the SAT and ACT are still a part of applications. “I would still recommend that students take an SAT or an ACT test in their junior year because by doing so they’re just possibly giving themselves more options. For example, for the UCs and the Cal-States, for right now at least, they’re not going to be using those scores for admissions. But they might use them down the road for placement...There really is no downside to taking it.Just to have the score is just one more factor that the colleges might use in the admissions process if the student chooses to send their score,” said Ms. Fitts. Taking the PSAT is also “worth it”. Juniors who take it will have the chance to try to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. Ms. Fitts encourages students to attempt getting the scholarship though only a handful of students end up qualifying. However, Ms. Fitts also wanted to stress that students should not use too much time to prepare for the SAT. She said that now, colleges are increasingly focusing on what makes a student an interesting person and an appealing applicant. Using time to study for the SAT can take time away from extracurriculars, studying for classes, and other activities that can benefit a student when writing a college essay or when in an interview. Currently, students who graduate after the Class of 2022 will be required to submit a standardized test score when applying to a college. For more information regarding a specific college and their policy about the topic, Ms. Fitts recommends this website.

Lots of sophomores and juniors have kept studying for the SATs and PSATs throughout lockdown. However, many colleges and universities have dropped the requirement of including an SAT score in applications for the Classes of 2021 and 2022. There are two names for this condition: test-optional and test-blind. “So many colleges have now gone testoptional or test-blind. All of the colleges that are test-optional tell students that if they have an SAT or ACT score that they want to submit as part of their application, then they are welcome to do so. And they will use it in the admissions process as an evaluating factor... Test-blind colleges like the UC system and the Cal-State system will not look at scores even if students send them,” said Ms. Fitts, the College and Career Counselor of Arcadia High School (AHS). However, this does not mean that a student should not submit a test score with their application. According to Ms. Fitts, colleges can still use a student’s SAT score to determine which classes they should take as a freshman. Additionally, the SAT adds another factor to an application. Ms. Fitts said that in a college application, the number-one component is a student’s high school transcript. This includes the types of classes, the trends of their performance, and whether a student is challenged enough by their classes. AHS also sends a profile of what type of school it is and its curricula so that the colleges can compare it to the student’s transcript. Before test-optional conditions, standardized test scores were the second most important factor in an application. Some schools are still quite set on keeping the scores as a key component in admissions while others are not. Even before COVID-19, a couple of schools were already trying a test-optional condition. This is because a lot of research shows that standardized testing is unfair; some students do not have the same resources and type of preparation for the SAT that others do. More and more schools are recognizing and discussing this. achang@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of CAPPEX.COM “Critics say SAT and ACT results follow Graphic courtesy of a pattern of all standardized test scores: Kids COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG from poor families do worse than kids with

Crunchyroll Original Creator Visits AHS

Mesoamerican references to the culture as well as more obscure topics around MesoStaff Writer american culture. Alexander said that searching up Mesoamerican culture on Google only On Mar. 12, 2021 Sofia Alexander, the scratched the surface of their values, and she creator of Crunchyroll Original Onyx Equinox wanted to make sure that she covered more as well as Kuni Tomita from the art departin-depth to represent the topic properly. ment joined the weekly Japanese Culture Club After finding success with Onyx meeting as they discussed what the animation Equinox, Alexander now has many fans that industry is like. are awaiting an announcement for a second Thanks to club president as well as senior season of the series. Fans are clamoring for Adam Chavez, the club was allowed to have these two visitors describe their jobs at the Japa- Crunchyroll to approve the series for a seanese Culture Club meeting. Club meetings usu- son two as despite having around only 9,000 ally consist of a presentation regarding Japanese followers on Twitter, fans are very vocal culture as well and sometimes special activities about the series receiving another season. As both Tomita and Alexander have such as this one will be held. worked in the art and animation industry for Both Kumi and Alexander are known for a variety of work in the art department in many a while now they gave some knowledgeable advice about up-and-coming artists. popular animations. Some famous works that “Even if it seems like it is impossible to Alexander and Tomita are part of are The Powerpuff Girls and Dora the Explorer. Being in the get recognized, just keep on doing what you enjoy. Eventually you may be able to find an industry for a while now, they are both knowlopportunity thanks to all the work you have edgeable of how the industry works as well as put in,” said Tomita. how shows get featured by Crunchyroll. Members of the club all appreciated that First of all, what is Onyx Equinox? Well, it the visitors gave their time to visit the club. is a show belonging to the Crunchyroll Origi“We appreciate them for giving up time nals collection, where shows are fully funded out of their day to chat with us. It was a by Crunchyroll. Alexander was able to get her wonderful experience,” said Japanese teacher project approved, and the rest was handled by Mrs. Summers. Crunchyroll. Onyx Equinox was the first series Be sure to join the Japanese Culture to be fully produced by Crunchyroll Studios Club for more exciting activities such as this only. “Originally I thought that nobody would one! support a Mesoamerican style anime, but my syang@arcadiaquill.com wife was able to convince me to give it a shot, Graphics courtesy of and they liked my idea!” said Alexander. COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG Accordingly, the show contains a lot of and AWN.COM

By SEAN YANG

SEXUAL ASSAULT

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APRIL 2021

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

APRIL 2021

cf.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

AWARENESS

By MELODY LUI Campus Focus Editor Ever since 2001, April has been nationally dedicated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of SAAM, but like many other national awareness months, advocacy and protests for sexual assault awareness can be brought back to the mid 1900s, more specifically around the same time of the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement helped establish the start of several well known movements today due to its inspiration to protest for justice and equity. Many activists advocated for multiple movements rather than focusing on a singular problem in society. Some well known gender and sexual violence activists include Maya Angelou, Rosa Parks, and Coretta Scott King. Especially because talk about sexual violence was not normalized in the mid 1900s, these advocates are highly respected for their determination and active protesting. Sexual violence is never at the fault of the victim despite the manipulation and threats that a victim is prone to face from their perpetuator and from society. SAAM works to spread awareness as well as prevent sexual violence in the workplace, communities, college campuses, and across the nation. In more recent years, SAAM has broadened their audience to bystanders and those not actively involved in advocating. Prevention can start at a young age with parents and community leaders promoting respect for others and changing societal views and stigmas.

Although many victims are wary of seeking help, multiple resources and hotlines are available to comfort and guide victims. Websites including rainn.org, victimconnect.org, and thehotline.org provide hotlines and online chat services 24 hours a day for any sexual violence related events. The national sexual assault hotline can be reached at 800-656-4673, and many cities provide shelter for those escaping from sexual violence. Almost everyday a new sexual violence article surfaces the news outlets. Not only in the United States, but even stereotypically progressive countries including Sweden and the United Kingdom have problems with sexual violence amongst its citizens. Perpetrators are given the benefit of the doubt,and local courts often have a difficult time penalizing assailants. Continued support for victims and outward protests against assailants can hopefully dismantle society;s view on sexual violence. The purpose of SAAM is to encourage education and advocating from those who think their input is not important to the end of sexual violence. As SAAM continues to grow and infiltrate into the lives of more and more people in the United States, we hope for a steady decrease in the numbers of sexual assault cases as well as an overall safer environment.

A 2018 study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice stated that there were 2.7 per 1000 people who self-reported a sexual assault crime compared to the 2017 statistic of only 1.4 per 1000. These only take into consideration the self-reported crimes, while the true number of victims remains unknown. However, Bureau of Justice Statisticians, Rachel E. Morgan and Barbara E. Oudekerk, estimated about 734,630 people in the United States were raped in 2018. Sexual assault is not limited to one specific group of individuals. Sexual violence can occur at any age to any person on this Earth. Ever since COVID-19 started, however, attention has been brought to the mass amounts of sexual violence that has occurred to women in developed and developing countries around the world. The #Me Too Movement spread worldwide with protests occurring in countries such as China, Nigeria, and Mexico in hopes for international pressure against each respective government to enact policies against women’s sexual violence. Although it is difficult to say whether the governments are planning to create any substantial laws regarding the safety of its citizens, the fact that protests were allowed to occur indicates further development into a prosperous nation. Citizen action is imperative when trying to create a more stable nation as government policies are not always accommodating to its people.

mlui@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of COMMONS.WIKIMEDIA.ORG

A&E

By JOY HERRERA Staff Writer The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is a staple of culture in Los Angeles and the largest art museum in the western United States. It is normally open year-round, and the museum charges $20 for adult tickets, $16 for senior citizens, and is free for everyone under 17. However, when quarantine began, like many other museums it had to shut its doors and transition to an online viewing model. On Apr. 1, LACMA was able to reopen following the easing of Los Angeles restrictions. “We are delighted to welcome visitors back to the museum. We have a diverse and exciting program of exhibitions that are sure to inspire visitors during these challenging times… We are thrilled to again be a source of respite, solace, and beauty for Angelenos.” said LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director Michael Govan. Los Angeles guidelines allow the museum to be open at 25% capacity, but this means that tickets must be purchased with a time slot. These time slots—as well as other coronavirus protocols such as mandatory mask-wearing, contact tracing, health screening, temperature checking, and social distancing—are all part of a campaign to keep the museum safe for visitors. LACMA has also reworked its pathways, and its new exhibitions are streamlined to decrease contact. LACMA is reopening with six new exhibitions. “Bill Viola: Slowly Turning Narrative” is on view through June 27, and features a large-scale video installation composed of different images and clips as well as a mirror that emerges to reflect the viewer at themselves. The works of Yoshitomo Nara are on view through July 5, and feature a va-

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riety of sculptures and paintings by the renowned Japanese artist. “NOT I: Throwing Voices (1500 BCE–2020 CE)” is on view through July 25, and is a collection that seeks to explore ventriloquism through the ages and what the voice means. The longer-running exhibitions are more focused on photography and the contemporary world. “Vera Lutter: Museum in the Camera” is on view through Sept. 12, and features photographs taken during Lutter’s two-year residence at LACMA with the traditional style of camera obscura. “Cauleen Smith: Give It Or Leave It” is on view through Oct. 31, and features detailed interdisciplinary installations which capture the imagination through its creativity. “View From Here: Recent Acquisitions” is an ongoing exhibit featuring photographs from vastly different perspectives to capture the mind of the watcher. LACMA is proceeding with caution and other museums in the area are following suit, with the California Science Museum and Natural History Museum of Los Angeles Country also opening up in April. However, many others are staying closed. These museums urge their visitors to plan their visits with caution. For those who are still unvaccinated or are hesitant to be around people, LACMA will continue to host their series LACMA @ home. This series showcases a large part of LACMA’s digitized artworks each week. However, if you are ready and willing to take the plunge you can plan your visit at www.lacma.org.

jherrera@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of FFONTS.COM, SEETHELINES.COM, and 2X4.ORG

By AMANDA CHANG Staff Writer Before the pandemic, escape rooms served as entertainment for many people. Birthday parties, outings, dates, and more could all all be held at one venue. Escape rooms have risen in popularity so much that they have appeared in media like TV shows. But like many non-essentials, escape rooms had to be closed during the pandemic. Despite this, lots of escape room businesses still found ways to host them virtually and escape room-like board games have been created. As those who have participated in escape rooms know, they can be mysterious, creepy, and stressful, yet fun and even rewarding when solved. How do the alternative versions of escape rooms compare? One type of escape room is an online escape room. According to Game Informer, “For those wanting to recapture the fun… The Escape Game has a solution. Virtual escape rooms are similar to that of the more familiar in-person versions. The difference… is that players are hosted over Zoom or Skype calls and control a ‘field agent’ in real-time to complete the challenges instead of doing it themselves.” The “field agent” does what the players tell them to do in a real escape room, but the only perspective the players have is of the field agent. So although the online escape room seems to be quite similar, not all of the players will be able to look around themselves. However, some might see this as an advantage that one would not be able to achieve in person. Over-excited groups would not be as organized and collaborative over each obstacle in person as they would be online. With only one view, the party has to focus on each puzzle one at a time. Overall, the online version of the escape room is as the description says. Another type is the escape room board game. There are multiple versions of and companies that make escape room board games. One of them is called “Escape Room The Game.” According to the website for the game, you can “feel the thrill and enjoy the mystery from [an] escape game in your own home! As in the case in many Escape Rooms across the world, you are ‘locked in’ this game and the object is to find the codes to ‘escape’ within 60 minutes by solving puzzles in riddles.”

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Another version of an escape room board game is called “Escape The Room: Mystery at the Stargazer’s Manor,” made by the company ThinkFun. In this rendition, players have to search for the astronomer in his mansion and help him escape after he is affected by one of his experiments. Players have a certain amount of time depending on the number of people in their party. In ThinkFun’s version, a number of handheld components like envelopes, cards, secret items, and a solution wheel are included to be used throughout the game. “It can be frustrating, and it’s easy to get stuck. But it’s also good for team building and it’s very satisfying because of the problem solving,” said sophomore Joshua Sujo, who played the “Stargazer’s Manor” edition with his younger cousins. One of them added that the game was quite stressful and a little bit creepy. In comparison to the online version and in-person version of escape rooms, the board game is more cost-effective since a number of different players can join without having to pay individually. However, it can only be played once. Many people who left reviews of the game said that they could pass the game on to other families to try. Friends and families can also trade games since there are multiple versions and different companies that have made them and even created different levels of difficulty. All in all, both types of escape rooms are fun substitutes for the in-person form of escape rooms with their own pros and cons.

achang@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of DRIBBLE.COM and ZEDGE.NET

A&E

ae.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

APRIL 2021

Justin Bieber: Riding the

Social ‘Justice’ Wave By LINDA QIU Staff Writer “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Justin Bieber’s sixth album Justice opens with a sample of a speech by Martin Luther King Jr., a decision that is baffling and definitely not entirely appropriate. The majority of the tracks on Justice consist of the pop singer gushing about the power of romantic love, a showcase of Bieber’s monolithic love for his wife Hailey Bieber, rife with metaphors comparing love to things like drugs and medicine. The swap from Dr. King’s rousing words to love song “2 Much” is jarring and out of place. Then, later in the album is the “MLK Interlude,” which features a sample of one of Dr. King’s sermons “But If Not.” “But you’re just as dead at 38 as you are at 90. You died when you refused to stand up for right. You died when you refused to

By SEAN YANG Staff Writer “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everIn the past few weeks the amount of violence against Asians has increased exponentially as new reports of crime occur almost daily now. The general public has already shown their outrage over the crimes on social media plat-

forms such as Twitter and Instagram, but now celebrities are weighing in their thoughts on the situation as well. On March 29, popular Korean boy band BTS shared their thoughts on Twitter.

stand up for truth. You died when you refused to stand up for justice.” I expected the usage of such a moving speech to be followed with singing about some cause, or at least a song that mentions a form of social injustice that is going on today. Instead the interlude is followed by synth-pop track “Die For You,” which is tied to the interlude in a way as it does talk about dying. That is, dying for the love of your life. MLK controversy aside, Justice isn’t a bad album, and makes for a smooth listen. Bieber has a great voice and even better control over it, switching effortlessly between a calm chest voice and a light falsetto. His genre-roam-

ing guest features, from Chance The Rapper in “Holy” to Daniel Caesar and Giveon on “Peaches,” keep the listening experience interesting. The highlight of this album is the final song of Justice, “Lonely,” a ballad produced by Billie Eilish’s producer, Benny Blanco, and brother, Finneas O’Connell. The simple instrumental complements Bieber’s slightly raspy singing, and adds to the melancholy, raw emotions of the track. “What if you had it all/ But nobody to call?/ Maybe then you’d know me/ ‘Cause I’ve had everything/ But no one’s listening/ And that’s just… lonely.”

“We feel grief and anger, but what our voice must convey is clear. We stand against racial discrimination. We condemn violence. We will stand together,” said the group. The post garnered over 2.3 million likes on Twitter as fans appreciated BTS for speaking up about the situation. Along with BTS, popular pop stars Rihanna and Pharrel Williams also showed their support for the movement. Rihanna made a public statement on Instagram showing her protest against the shootings in Atlanta while Pharrel also made a statement on Instagram regarding the Atlanta shootings. “I’m heartbroken for the Asian community and my heart is with the loved ones of those we lost yesterday,” said Rihanna. “My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost their wives, sisters,

and daughters, stop Asian hate now,” said Pharrell. Singer Janet Jackson made a statement on Twitter as well, giving prayers to all those who were affected by the shootings. “My heart breaks for the Asian community. Sending prayers to all affected by yesterday’s tragedy, #StopAsianHate,” said Jackson. NBA players Jeremey Lin and Lebron James also showed support for the families. Lin weighed in on the hate against Asian Americans as he himself has experienced racial intolerance on the court. Lin made a statement on Facebook sharing his thoughts about the violence as well as his hopes for the world to stop putting so much negative emphasis on a person’s race. Lebron James commented on the Atlanta shootings as he showed his support for the vic-

It’s a charming and concise end to an earnest pop album; it speaks of Bieber’s experience living in the spotlight, and references the criticism he faced from a young age for actions made at an arguably immature stage of his life. Conversely, the worst track just has to be “2 Much.” It’s saved a little by Skrillex’s production, but the awkward usage of the Dr. King sample throws everything off. Rather than being touching or inspiring, it gives the impression that Bieber is riding the current social justice wave by halfheartedly inserting civil rights quotes here and there. The Dr. King quotes revolve around racial injustice, while everything else refers to romantic love, with hints at religious faith.

lqiu@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of BUCNELLIAN.NET and WALLPAPERTAG.COM

tims via Twitter. “My condolences goes out to the families of all of the victims and the entire Asian community tonight on what transpired in Atlanta at the Aromatherapy Spa,” said James. Lebron also called the perpetrator a coward and described the situation as “senseless and tragic”. At last Kim Kardashian also posted anti-asian violence resources on her Twitter, but did not make a statement about the topic. However, this still conveys her support for the anti-violence cause. Users also praised Kardashian for using her status on the platform for a good cause. With all of these celebrities speaking up about the issue, there is clearly a problem in our society regarding the amount of Asian violence that is currently taking place. Hopefully with such influential figures speaking up for the cause, more attention will be given to the problem to help stop violence for all ethnicities.

syang@arcadiaquill.com Graphics courtesy of STOCK.ADOBE.COM and WALLPAPER SAFARI.COM

SPORTS

arcadiaquill.com

APRIL 2021

THE JV BASEBALL SEASON

By SIDDHARTH KARTHIKEYA Staff Writer This season the boys in red have been bringing their best to the field. Despite facing lots of adversity, AHS’ JV Baseball team posted an overall record of six wins and five losses almost halfway through their season. Keeping above that 50% win percentage by a single game, they’ve proven that they are in it to win. Of the six wins in their last 11 games, freshman pitcher, Roman Cicero, was responsible for three. Consistently throwing his heart out for his team, Cicero kept the opponents bats under control, allowing for the Apaches to score runs without much competition. His extraordinary performances, which are all the more impressive considering the fact he’s a freshman, have shut out opposing teams and allowed for large margined victories. Of these six wins, one of the most notable was against Burroughs on Apr. 3. Coming into the Burroughs game, our

boys weren’t doing too hot. After a win in their first game, they would go on to lose the next three. A major reason for the losses was the lack of offense in the team’s lineup. Key hitters did not seem to be performing at their full potential and the team was in a collective slump. That’s why winning the game against Burroughs was imperative, not only to boost their spirits, but also to get the boys back into rhythm. And sure enough, it did. On Apr. 3, our boys completely demolished Burroughs’ pitching, scoring 17 runs by the fourth inning and ending the game early by rule of mercy. The best part? For these 17 runs, everyone played a role. The whole lineup, top to bottom, got hits and scored runners, resulting in improved individual batting averages and improved team morale. After this hot performance against Burroughs, the boys carried forward their momentum as they went to face San Dimas and Charter Oak, getting loads of hits and scoring runners in clutch situations when they were

presented. Because of that monumental win against Burroughs, hitters were back on fire, and a few were playing better than ever. Notable hitting performances from sophomore Nicholas Choy and freshman Jerry Carlos, complimented the stellar pitching from JV pitchers. With batting averages over .500 in the last four games, both Carlos and Choy have been on an absolute tear at the plate striking fear in the opposing team with their violent and consistent swings. With the key points in the offense now delivering consistently, our boys are ready to go on a winning tear. So with things going so well, it’s only reasonable to wonder why a team so talented can have five losses with only 11 games played so far in the season. And for one to answer this question, there’s a lot to take into mind. First of all, due to scheduling concerns, AHS’ Baseball program was forced to eliminate the Frosh Soph team and add the new freshmen directly onto the JV Baseball team.

This resulted in a mammoth roster with 30 kids vying for the nine positions on the field. Also, there were several injuries on the team. Sophomore Outfielder Kaanan Sahni, a key member of the team, injured his elbow during practice, resulting in him not being able to perform at his full capacity. “It’s been hard going back into full swing after such a long break,” said Sahni when asked about the cause of his injury. Finally, with COVID-19 spikes causing the cancelling of practices, the team was simply out of shape and not ready to begin the season when pitted against schools in counties with lighter restrictions. So, the odds were definitely against the team. Yet, through all this adversity, the boys continue to persevere, work hard, and make Arcadia proud on that baseball field. Go Arcadia! skarthikeya@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of LATIMES.COM and Siddharth Karthikeya

GIRLS GOLF TEAM OFF TO A GREAT SEASON

By CATHERINE CHAN

Staff Writer

After the sacrifice of fall and winter sports, due to the pandemic, spring sports are up and running with their season’s schedule. One of the spring sports competing at the moment is AHS’ Girls Golf team, led by Coach Greep. Lasting about 2 to 3 hours, the Girls’ Golf team matches typically take up to nine holes. However, they must arrive earlier to practice their techniques for the match. “They have to arrive at the golf course at least an hour before they tee off to hit balls on the driving range and to practice their putting and chipping,” Coach Greep said. “We always hear how awesome it is to golf which is true; however, it also requires a great deal of time and dedication.” The girls “spend long hours at the golf course then get home late and have to catch up on school work. Unlike other sports who arrive an hour before, compete for an hour or so then leave, the golfers can spend 4 to 8 hours at the course,” said Coach Greep. According to Coach Greep, the Burbank Girls’ Golf team included two of the top girls in the league, bringing tight competition to their first match with Burbank. “Fortunately, for us the top golfer in the league is our golfer Erica Lee, followed by the

two Burbank girls,” Greep said. “Erica Lee tied for low medalist in our first league match at Brookside shooting even par 36.” Erica Lee, a current sophomore at AHS, has just recently captured her first career Toyota Tour Cup (TTC). “I can’t believe I was able to get my first TTC win!” Erica said on her Instagram golf page. “It was tough playing 36 holes for the first time on the first day and a final 18 the last

day. It was really windy, but I was able to push through. After shooting a 70 (-2) and 73 (+1) the first day, and a 75 (+3) the last, I was able to place 1st with a total of 2 over at Toyota Tour Cup.” Aside from Erica Lee’s talent in golf, Coach Greep shares that the AHS Girls Golf team were fortunate to have some strong returners “in the top six, Nicole Ho, Phoebe Wong, Cheyenne Liao and Angeline Nim.”

Overall, while the match was competitive, the Girls’ Golf team is off to a great start for their season as Coach Greep describes the energy and spirit to be thrilling with the season officially beginning. “This is an incredibly unique season, we’ve all had to deal with the pandemic and the potential loss of our season. I’ve told them from day one when we returned to practice last month,” said Coach Greep. While it is not easy to play a season during such unprecedented times, the Girls’ Golf team is doing a terrific job with their season just beginning. There will be ups and downs along the way, and that is only natural. To persevere and be resilient to setbacks will allow them to become stronger players. As Coach Greep said, “Let’s enjoy every minute of it, be grateful it’s happening, keep grinding like they have been and good things will happen. Don’t allow one bad round of golf to ruin your season. We have five more league matches and there’s no doubt in my mind we will win all of them. I’m super proud of the hard work the girls have been putting in at the driving range. Of course, we all want to win every match, however, what’s most important is for them to have fun. Hit bombs and make putts.”

cchan@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of AUSD.NET

SPORTS 17 THE EQUAL PAY FIGHT CONTINUES

APRIL 2021

sports.arcadiaquill@gmail.com

By LINDA QIU

Staff Writer A long-running dispute over equal pay between the World Cup-winning U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team (USWNT) and the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) continues with an appeal of a judge’s ruling that dismissed their calls for equal pay. In March 2019 players from the USWNT sued the USSF claiming that they were not paid equitably compared to the men’s team, as well as alleging they were subject to discriminatory working conditions. They requested over $66 million in damages, citing the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The Equal Pay Act allegations were thrown out by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner in May 2020, who ruled that women had rejected a pay-to-play structure similar to that in the men’s and received higher base salaries and benefits than them. The women’s team settled in December 2020 on the working condition claims, getting a deal to receive charter flights, hotel accommodations, venues, and staff equitable to those of the men’s national team. With this agreement in place, they were able to return their focus to the former goal of their legal battle, equal pay. Now, the players, led by USWNT member Alex Morgan, are fighting for a reinstatement of the part of their suit Judge Klausner threw out in May. “This legal case is simple: for each win, loss and tie that women players secure, they are paid less that men who play the same sport and who do the same work; that is gender discrimination,” said players’ spokeswoman Molly Levinson. “In addition, the discovery record demonstrated-- including in depositions from current or former USSF executives and Board members-- that a pervasive atmosphere of sexism drove this pay discrimination.” In response, the USSF offered to pursue a settlement to end the legal fight, and stated that though it was prepared for the USWNT’s appeal on the equal pay issue, it hoped for a resolution out of court. “U.S. Soccer is 100% committed to equal pay. We have offered the USWNT the identical compensation provided to our men’s players for all matches controlled by U.S. Soccer,” said the USSF. “Unfortunately, the USWNT has not accepted our offer or our long-standing invitation to meet or try to find a resolution unless U.S. Soccer first agrees to make up the difference between the Men’s and Women’s World Cup prize money, which is determined, controlled and paid for by FIFA.”

ATHLETE FEATURE: DAMIAN JENNINGS

The difference in question is a $400 million bonus pool at the Men’s 2018 World Cup in comparison to $30 million for the 2019 Women’s World Cup. Oral arguments in the appeal are estimated to be scheduled in 12 to 20 months. The outcome has the potential to impact women in other professional sports as well.

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to attend the games in person, but can watch it on the livestream that is sent out on gameday. Good luck to them and hopefully they have a fantastic season free of COVID pauses and cases.

By BRANDON CHAN Staff Writer The pandemic has certainly changed things for all sports at AHS, and it was no different for the Boys Varsity Basketball team. Damian Jennings, shooting guard, offered some insight on this strange season. “Practices were certainly different this year because we had to make sure everyone on the team was COVID-free before we ran drills and everything,” said Damian. “We started practicing early in the morning, and we had to start training on our own in order to stay more in shape and stay prepared. If we weren’t training by ourselves at home, it was very easy to get out of shape. I was able to do regular exercises such as lifting and cardio.” While this basketball season wasn’t the senior regular season he was expecting, Damian still managed to have a good and fun time hanging out with his teammates and creating lifelong relationships. “I have had so much fun and learned many life lessons from my coaches,” said Damian. “One thing that has definitely stuck with me is to continue pushing myself no matter what obstacles are in front of me. This has especially been true during this pandemic. Basketball is the same great sport everywhere you go. It’s fun because of the competitiveness and the skill involved to go get a bucket. The teamwork aspect is also important.” Since he was young, he had an interest and passion for basketball because of his family. Everyone in his household played basketball, so he was surrounded by a love for the game at an incredibly young age. One of Damian’s biggest inspirations on and off the court has been his favorite player, LeBron James. “My favorite player is definitely LeBron James. What he’s done off the court for underprivileged kids in his hometown of Akron is incredible by itself. Then you see his accomplishments on the court and I believe he’s the greatest basketball player to ever play this game. Between his two titles in Miami, to finally winning Cleveland a title by coming back from a 3-1 series deficit against arguably the greatest team of all time, there are few careers that can match up to that.” The Boys Varsity Basketball team played their first game on Apr. 19. You won’t be able

bchan@arcadiaquill.com Photo courtesy of DAMIAN JENNINGS

APRIL 2021

arcadiaquill@gmail.com

CAMPUS FOCUS

school reopening! why did students “I decided to go back to school because I felt that being back at school really helped with my motivation and concentration when it came to school. Being at home definitely has its perks, but I always felt distracted and felt less motivated to finish my work so being at school helped to alleviate some of those problems.” - Brandon Lin, 11

“I chose to go back because I needed a change in mindset. It has really helped my mental health and it’s much easier to focus in-person!” - Leilani Wetterau, 11

choose to go back to school this month?

if you have gone back to school, how is the experience the same or

“Other than affecting my personal motivation and concentration, being in-person didn’t feel too different from being at home. It was a nice change of setting to be in a different environment and nice to interact with teachers and students face to face in a socially distance matter.” - Brandon Lin, 11

different from regular in-person school?

“I have really gotten to know my teachers better!” - Leilani Wetterau, 11